5.
ONLINE. TIME ELAPSED: 00:00:00
She had found a hole. She had to tell them, she didn't know why. But she had found one; a tiny, chipped-away place in the wall, and she did not know how deep it was, as she stuck her arm in it, nearly to her elbow. She had removed her hands only to find it coated with smudges of white, crumbling drywall.
:Boolean:
Is anyone there? I think I found something.
xXx
Hope was a stupid, stupid thing. It had been hope that had kept Walter awake for what he could assume was several days, glancing now and again at the glowing screen in the selfish, shameful hope of movement, of anything. His punishment, now, was being at last asleep, as Astrid's comment arrived on his screen. His rest was fitful and unpleasant, and his hands and features twitched and tightened against the desktop with unpleasant dreams.
xXx
Olivia was not sleeping, as she looked up from her seat across from the locked door, as she had been staring at it, waiting. The immediate motion on the screen drew her eyes like a night animal waiting for prey, and she rose, carefully pacing across the room to sit on her knees in the chair.
Pureffect.45
I thought I was alone. But W. was right- we're never alone.
xXx
Astrid knew what she meant. It had been a very long time since they had spoken. Astrid had only to assume that the others might even have been mad at her, for instilling them with such high expectations. But she couldn't help it. It would take all of them to get out of this place, and she had to keep them fighting.
:Boolean:
We'll
never be alone if we have each other.
xXx
Peter had stopped doing sit-ups to watch the conversation. He scoffed openly at Astrid's weak-sounding attempt at bonding. He'd decided a long time ago that if he were going to get out of here, it would be of his own power.
Utopianserpent
Just can it, A..
xXx
Astrid glared at the screen;
:Boolean:
Quit being stupid. Now I've found something, and I think it might help, regardless of how much of a xxxhead you're being.
xXx
Olivia looked over her shoulder at the door, finding that nothing had changed, in the time she had looked away. The screen pulled her eyes back in, and she leaned over the desk on her elbows.
Pureffect.45
What is it you've found? Make it quick, they could come back for us.
xXx
Astrid returned to the fist-sized hole, looking at it for a few moments before returning to the desk.
:Boolean:
It's… a hole. Just a hole in the wall, a few inches above the floor, behind the sink. It looks like someone kicked it in… but it wasn't there, when I checked last time. I don't know where it came from.
xXx
Peter frowned.
Utopianserpent
What do you mean, you don't know? You're the only one that's been in the room, haven't you?
XXx
Astrid looked back at the bathroom door, thinking back as best she could, form the lapses.
:Boolean:
I don't remember putting it there. I'd remember something like that, wouldn't I?
xXx
There were a whole hell of a lot of things that they couldn't remember, at this point, and what made it worse was how confusing the memories Olivia did have were nothing short of horribly confusing.
Pureffect.45
With the xxx that's been happening, I wouldn't surprised if you did, A.. Was there anything in the hole?
xXx
Olivia had a point. Astrid went back to the wall and reached in again, still finding nothing.
:Boolean:
Just dust. I don't know how deep it goes, I can only fit my arm in up to the elbow. What do you think it means?
xXx
Peter considered a few moments, thinking back to the short duration of his life he had spent as a plumber's apprentice. It had paid far less than bank fraud, to be sure.
Utopianserpent
It's a weak spot in the plaster, probably where some old pipes were removed, and it means a lot of things. It means that the pipes used to be exposed, and they replaced them, meaning that the people here before us tried and probably succeeded in dismantling them. It also means we're not dead or sleeping.
xXx
What a bizarre conclusion. Olivia had seen the reason behind his other assumptions, but the last one struck her as odd.
Pureffect.45
This place is the closest thing to hell I've ever experienced.
xXx
He smirked. Her humor was coming back, and he was surprised to find that he had missed it.
Utopianserpent
Me, too. What I mean to say is that it's too imperfect to be a dream. I don't dream of plumbing weak spots, do you? And this can't be hell, because hell doesn't exist.
xXx
Astrid raised her eyebrows.
:Boolean:
You're an atheist? Why couldn't there be a hole in hell?
xXx
Peter shook his head with a smirk.
Utopianserpent
I'm agnostic, not atheist. There's a difference. And there couldn't be a hole in hell, because as common text holds it, Hell was constructed as a prison for lost souls by a higher 'good', regardless of which good you choose to believe in. So if something is created by god, it has to be flawless.
xXx
At least he was educated, in his own aspect, and Astrid could respect that, if anything.
:Boolean:
I'm still don't have the foggiest idea what to do about this hole. If it's a weak spot, would you either of you have it, too?
xXx
Olivia was way ahead of her, and slumped back in her chair with an agitated sigh, massaging her bruised hand from pounding the wall behind the sink.
Pureffect.45
No dice. I beat the crap out of it, and got nothing.
xXx
Peter had concluded the same thing, covering his lips in his fingers in thought.
Utopianserpent
I've got nothing. Perhaps you're in and older room, like they've made more of them since they fixed the plumbing.
xXx
A genuinely disturbing thought. But Olivia could see the strangely flawless logic behind it, and added a bit of her own.
Pureffect.45
If they built new rooms, it could mean there are more flaws in the old rooms, or that they had more people to accommodate, or both. A., you have to look around for anything else. If you find anything, tell us as soon as you can.
xXx
Astrid smiled with a small, triumphant sigh. They were back on the right track again.
:Boolean:
I'll see what I can do. (20)(8)(5) (16)(12)(1)(19)(20)(5)(18) (12)(15)(15)(11)(19) (11)(9)(14)(4) (15)(6) (23)(5)(1)(11), (11)(15) (9)'(12)(12) (20)(18)(25) (3)(8)(9)(16)(16)(9)(14)(7) (1)(20) (9)(20).
xXx
That was a good prospect. And something about this place seemed different to him, now, as he had come to his conclusions. It no longer seemed like a somehow menacing, inescapable thing, but rather, a box built by man, flawed and beginning to crumble apart.
Utopianserpent
Well. There may be hope for us yet.
xXx
Olivia was honestly shocked by his comment, and pondered silently if she had been too fast to judge Peter. But maybe not. She wondered what he looked like.
Pureffect.45
Oh-ho? Do I sense a hint of optimism, Mr. Pessimist?
xXx
Peter grinned. He might even look forward to seeing this woman in person.
Utopianserpent
I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist.
xXx
Pureffect.45
You're certainly something.
xXx
Utopianserpent
And just what does that mean??
xXx
Astrid rolled her eyes, blowing a stray lock of hair away.
:Boolean:
Would you two just get married or something?
She waited, with a slight smirk, for their sharp responses, and was suddenly distracted. There was something different about her room again, and she only stared at it, openmouthed.
The door was open.
xXx
FEED SUSPENDED. TIME ELAPSED: 00:30:14.